Aardman Animation use new tricks for BBC Digital campaign

Aardman Animations in association with advertising agency DFGW has premiered new techniques in the BBC’s latest campaign to promote access to its six extra digital channels.
Commissioned by BBC Digital Marketing Access team and produced by BBC Broadcast, the campaign lets viewers know they can get the extra TV channels via satellite, cable and Freeview and that they do not have to buy a new television to do it.
With a lot of information to get across, a strong creative idea was required to tie it all together in a simple piece of communication. Depicting the extra digital channels as a new lease of life for old TVs was adopted.
Luis Cook and Steve Harding Hill directed for Aardman Animations. Cook said: “We used a technique we’ve never used before. We filmed actors reading the dialogue using their mouths in a very exaggerated way and then edited the footage to give it more of a stop frame feel. We built the characters into the computer as 3D models and then projected the footage of the actors mouths, eyes and foreheads onto the models to give the campaign a totally fresh and different look.”
Paul Clarke, Account Director at DFGW said: “The creative idea is designed to simplify the issue for those that have not yet embraced digital TV. Think of your TV as a dog that has lost some of its spirit. We play on the thought that ‘You can teach an old dog [TV] new tricks’, via the extra digital channels, which is a simple way of getting across the key communication message of the campaign.”
The TV campaign is comprised of 60 and 40 second spots that commenced on BBC ONE and BBC TWO from November 2.
(SP)